Die For You
by ChocolateChip-Master
Summary: On their way back from buying some ingredients for Hunk's decreasing supply, Lance and Pidge run into trouble. Mainly that of the mugging type. / Part 24 of my BTHB


**For the 'gunshot wound' prompt on my BTHB card! **

**brilliantbanshee requested: I can't remember if I've already requested one from you or not, but could you possibly do Gunshot wound with Pidge and Lance? I do love some platonic Plance.**

**God me too man**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Thank you!"

Pidge poured a handful of GAK into the clerk's clawed hand and lifted her hand in a wave as she and Lance left the store. It warbled a farewell after them, scaled face breaking into a wide grin. Despite the alien's outwardly ferocious appearance, it was actually kind. It even had the decency to offer the two of them a discount for everything they had bought.

"Okay," Lance leaned over to squint at the slightly-crumpled list in his hand, tucking a few bags under his arm. "Uh...the weird meat, potatoes with a suspicious amount of sprouts, the carrots scream when you cut them...yeah, that should be everything."

"You sure?" Pidge asked with a lifted eyebrow. "You know how Hunk is."

"You can double-check for me if you want," Lance shrugged, adjusting the bags in the crook of his arm to hold them better. "But I'm pretty sure we got everything. Like, 90% sure. Maybe ninety-five if I'm feeling really cocky."

Pidge rolled her eyes, scanning down Hunk's list one more time for the both of them. It seemed they really had gotten everything - especially the things they really needed, which had been underlined and circled for their convenience. She nodded, handing the list back to Lance. He shoved it back into his pocket and squinted, looking over the crowd with a twist to his lips. Pidge was glad he was tall enough to see over the morning market crowd - she was already lost in a maze of torsos and legs.

"What's the fastest way back to the Castle?" Lance asked her as they stuck together and wove through the crowd as best we could.

Pidge dug into her pocket for her tablet. She'd taken it along exactly for this purpose - Allura had warned them the market was like a maze. Can't get out and stop spending money if you never find your way out. It reminded Pidge of how malls back on Earth were constructed - just far more maze-like and every three stalls looked exactly the same with the same goods. Activating the GPS, she opened the program she'd coded for instances like this - a version of Google maps that would work out in space. She'd tried to explain how it worked to Keith and Lance but both of them got glazed-over looks within the first five minutes so she dumbed it down to 'it finds the Castle's signal and uses it to find the shortest possible route back'.

Tapping on the screen for a moment, Pidge found her route pretty easily. She looked up, squinting through the glare on her glasses to find where it was indicating and pointed. A little ways away from them was a little gap between the buildings. The shadows cast down it were dark but not enough to be discouraging.

"There," she said.

"The _ alleyway?" _Lance said incredulously. "Are we acting out a horror movie, Pidge?"

"It's the quickest way back," Pidge shrugged, pocketing her tablet again and adjusting the strap of the bag on her arm. It was starting to dig into her skin. "Just suck it up and we'll be back within the hour. Try not to get spooked by the shadows on our way back."

Lance made a face, grumbling about this being a dumb idea, but fell into step behind Pidge all the same. They made their way toward it, ducking out of the crowd. Pidge instantly felt like she could breathe a little better - she didn't do well with huge crowds like that.

She and Lance squeezed their way through the alleyway, which was far more cramped then Pidge had given it credit for with their many bags, making small talk. Pidge checked her tablet every so often to make sure they were going the right way as they made their way slowly but surely back home.

A farther way out, the alleyway began to open out, easing the claustrophobic feeling that had been settling over Pidge's chest. She exhaled slowly, pushing the anxiety out of her posture. A part of her had been agreeing with Lance as they walked. Maybe this had been a bad idea, but there was usually nothing wrong with a shortcut.

"Hey," Lance called. Pidge glanced over her shoulder at him and he nodded little ways in front of them. "That looks like a parking lot."

Pidge followed his gaze to the opening in the alleyway. It was in a large box shape, dilapidated dumpsters sitting on their sides and stacked on top of each other. A few trash cans charred on the sides were here and there and Pidge paused to look at it. If they were on Earth, this would have been a car lot at some point. Maybe a place people left their old cars to be picked apart for parts, forgotten and left to rust. The thought made her nostalgic in a very strange way.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Kinda does. Like the ones where they leave all their old cars."

Lance's expression softened with the same nostalgia Pidge was feeling. "Me and my siblings used to play around in those."

Pidge snorted. "Wasn't that dangerous?"

Lance gave her a lopsided grin. "Maybe a little."

Pidge glanced up as she spoke, catching sight of the alien lumbering towards them from the other side of the alleyway. Out of habit, she stepped aside with Lance - a little more into the lot - so they would have ample enough room to pass. _ Probably someone trying to avoid the crowds, _Pidge reasoned, watching as the alien lumbered toward them. There was a limp in their step - each footfall they landed on their right foot wrong and their whole leg buckled underneath them.

She opened her mouth as they came closer, intent on asking if they were okay, but the subtle twitch of their arm caught his attention. From the way Lance stiffened at her side, he'd noticed too. Pidge pressed her hand to her pocket where she'd left her bayard in case of an emergency, and watched with her breath held.

The alien withdrew something from their rags. It was bright blue with purple lines zigzagging throughout, but the design was unmistakable.

It was a gun.

Pidge swallowed thickly, trying hard to think what to say to defuse the rapidly heating situation, but the alien had already raised the gun to point at them.

"Give me all the GAK you have on hand," they snarled, voice deep and scratchy, like a crackling fire. Masculine, if Pidge had to guess.

"Sorry," Lance's voice was stiff. "We used it all getting groceries."

"Liar," snarled the alien. His right leg was trembling beneath him, struggling to hold weight. "Give me your money. _ Now." _

"I said we don't _ have anything-" _Lance cut himself off with a sharp gasp through his teeth as the alien turned his gun to Pidge.

"Give me what I asked for or your friend dies," he ordered. Lance's eyes shot imperceivably to meet Pidge's as she glanced at him. She could see how badly he was panicking and she would be lying entirely if she wasn't freaking out either. They had a mutual understanding - a silent agreement through a look alone (perks of being teammates in an intergalactic war) and made up their minds.

Exhaling slowly, Pidge turned back to the alien, keeping her eyes on the gun. "He's not lying. We don't have anything."

"You have to have something left," the alien seethed. "No one buys this much and doesn't have anything left over."

"Look, buddy, we already told you we don't have anything. We're just trying to pass through. Y'know, get home before someone worries," Lance narrowed his eyes. "You're gonna have to grill someone else for spare cash."

The alien swung his gun back to face Lance and in the instant the attention was off of her, Pidge darted forward. She ducked underneath the alien's arm and pushed upwards, throwing her entire body weight into his right side. She made sure to kick his bad leg on the way down, so the alien fell with an inhuman screech of agony. He crumpled, gun clattering out of his hand.

Lance took that as an opportunity to bolt, clutching their bags to his chest as he followed after Pidge down the alleyway. It was considerably larger, allowing for the two of them to run side by side, throwing glances over their shoulders as the alien stirred, grasping desperately for the gun a few feet away.

_ We just have to turn the corner, _ Pidge thought, throwing her head back forward. _ Just have to turn the corner and we'll be safe- _

The alien couldn't run on his bad leg. Pidge was counting on that. But he could still get a clear shot at their backs with his gun but the moment they turned the corner they'd be safe. She pressed on, adrenaline flooding her and forcing her to move despite the heavy bags knocking painfully into her legs and sides.

They were so close. Five paces, four paces-they were almost home free, almost-

"Look out!"

Lance, who Pidge had failed to see throw a look behind him, suddenly was throwing himself into her. Knocking her forward, she fell, crumping like a ragdoll on the pavement. Her hands and knees burned, but she paid it no heed as she turned around to figure out what had distressed Lance so. Bags smacked into the alleyway walls.

"Lance-" Pidge's eyes widened.

She heard the gun went off. She didn't see the bullet but she did say the way Lance's body _ buckled, _dropping to the ground. His forehead smashed onto the cobblestones beneath their feet. There was a circle-shaped hole in his back, blood already wetting the back of his jacket.

"_ Lance!" _Pidge screamed.

She threw her bags aside as the alien staggered to his feet, using the wall to support his even-worse leg. She dug in her pocket for her bayard and pulled it out, heart pounding in her ears as she pointed the end of it at the alien. It began to shimmer in her hands, morphing into her katar.

"Stay back!" she shouted, trying to sound as threatening as possible. "I'll fire this at you!"

The alien pulled back his lips to reveal the sharp teeth and snarled at her like a feral animal. The message was clear: _ do your worst. _

"I mean it, I will!" Pidge's voice was getting shriller and shriller. She stole a glance down at Lance, crumpled by her feet. The red stain on his jacket was getting worse. _Larger. _Oh, _ Christ. _

The alien took a few more unsteady steps towards her, hobbling as fast as he could manage. Closer and closer still - Pidge's finger squeezed the trigger to release the rope on her katar and lodge it into his face. Her stomach rolled at the prospect of killing but if it was for her family…

There was never a choice to begin with.

She pulled the trigger.

With a buzz of electricity crackling in her ears, the rope shot outward. It spun forward in a thread of electrified green and the alien had time to look surprised before it was embedded in the center of his face. He didn't even scream - just convulsed as the electricity coursed through his bloodstream. Pidge left it there for a few moments and they yanked yard on her bayard. The katar flew out of the alien's face and retracted back to its proper place in her hand. Across from her, the alien crumpled.

For a moment, she was still., Gasping and shuddering, fear still coursing through her veins. Dark blood dripped from her katar but she tried not to think about it. Tried not to think about the ramifications of what she had just done and scrambled over to Lance.

She rolled him over onto his side, cupping his face in both hands and feeling relief flood her as a shallow burst of air from his nose brushed against her thumbs. A hot prickle at her eyes grew more persistent as she rolled him back to his stomach, pulling up his jacket and shirt to get a better look at his wound.

The bullet had entered through his lower back - slightly off-center, so his spine wasn't in danger. Pidge thanked the little mercies as watched a stream of blood trickle out of the puffy hole and soak into the fabric of Lance's jacket. She swallowed thickly.

She had to get back to the castle.

Awkwardly, she pulled Lance's jacket off of his shoulders and used the sleeves to wrap it around his middle, pressing the hood of it to the bullet wound. She awkwardly peeled the bags off his shoulders - Hunk would have to make do without the supplies for a bit - and hefted both of Lance's arms over her shoulders. She staggered to her feet, practically crushed by his weight. Awkwardly, she pulled him up so his chin was pressed to the crook of her neck. At this angle, she could feel him breathing and appropriately panic if he stopped.

God, she should have been more _ attentive- _

"Not the time, Pidge," she muttered, mentally recalling the route back to the Castle and took the first of many unsteady steps. She could beat herself up mentally later. Right now, Lance took priority.

Awkwardly, she dragged Lance through the alleyways. Within minutes she was gasping for air and had sweat dripping down her forehead, but she refused to stop with how much was at stake. She pressed forward, stumbling a little as Lance's long legs dragged behind them. She gritted her teeth.

"Lance-" she gasped and it was hot and burned her chest. "Lance, don't you dare die on me. Don't you _ dare." _She took another unsteady step forward, legs trembling beneath her. Copper hung in the air, dripping onto Pidge's tongue and making her stomach curl in protest. She could feel the bile practically clawing its way up her throat. She wondered how much of Lance's precious jacket had been soaked through with blood by now.

Her lungs burned nearly as badly as her hands and knees, the scuffs on her palms aggravated by the salty sweat dripping into the open wounds and the friction of Lance's wrists sliding in her grip. She readjusted and plowed on, determined to make it. It couldn't be much farther now until they were out of the alleyways and onto the purple fields Coran had landed the Castle in. They had to be close. They _ had _to be.

Pidge's legs gave out on her on the next tug. With a gasp, she crashed to the ground, Lance's entire body weight toppling on top of her. Her chin hit the ground and agony exploded up her jaw at the contact. Her teeth snapped together. Copper flooded her mouth.

To her credit, Pidge did not cry out. Instead, she lay there for a moment, breaths coming out in short, raspy gasps. Her lungs felt like they'd filled with lava, every muscle in her entire body screaming at her to stop.

She couldn't.

Lance would die if she stopped.

Pidge hefted herself back to her knees, dragging Lance back up with her. Gritting her teeth, she looped Lance's arms over her shoulders again and _ tugged, _taking step after agonizing step. She'd have a hell of a burn there tomorrow morning, but that pain would be nothing if Lance died. She'd live with a limp in her step for the next few days if it meant that Lance would be okay.

"Don't you dare die," she heaved out through her lungs, gripping him all the harder. Blood dripped off her chin from the wound there and dotted the surface of her hoodie. "Stay with me, Lance. _ Stay with me." _

He did not answer.

Pidge turned a corner, spotting the fields of ankle-high purple grasses. They swayed peacefully in the breeze and - Pidge realized with a jolt in her gut - the Castle was there too. They were almost home free.

She checked one more time to make sure Lance was still breathing and plowed on.

Everything was exhausting. Each step pushed her closer and closer to the brink, but she couldn't stop. Refused to stop until Lance's face was lax with sleep and fog and glass was obscuring his face. The grass tickled her skin as she flattened it, heading up the slope (God why was it a _ slope?) _to the Castle. The ramp was still extended, clearly anticipating their return. She could see shapes on the horizon - distinctly human and shifting a little nervously.

"Almost there," she told Lance. "Almost there."

Lance didn't answer.

She trudged onward. The figures - Hunk and Shiro, if she had to take a guess - had taken notice of them. They began heading towards them. Pidge tried to speed up too meet them, but her shoes skidded on the rocks and she barely had time to yelp before she lost her footing again. She crashed to the ground, instinctively throwing her arms around Lance to protect him from any more harm. Rocks cut into her skin and she gasped.

"Lance! Pidge!" Hunk skidded down the slope toward them. "Hey, what's-" he cut himself off at the sight. He probably saw the blood first. The back of Lance's jacket had nearly soaked through with it, after all. Then he called Shiro's name, shrill and alarmed, and ran the rest of the way to them. "What happened?" he demanded as Pidge tried desperately to fit Lance under her shoulders again, to stand because they weren't out of the woods yet.

"Mugged," Pidge said through gritted teeth.

"Mugg-_ what?" _

"What happened?" Shiro echoed, eyes widening with concern as he caught sight of the two crumpled Paladins on the dirt. Pidge's gut flared with irritation as she forced her trembling legs to take twice the weight they were used to once again and failed. She crumpled almost instantly, glancing up at Shiro and Hunk.

"Doesn't matter right now," Pidge gasped out as Hunk awkwardly ducked down to grasp at Lance's arm. "_ Help him." _

Graciously, they understood. Hunk said nothing as he took Lance from Pidge and Shiro helped her stand. Hunk picked up Lance like he weighed nothing, lifting him in a piggy-back ride. He didn't waste any time heading back up the slope to the Castle at a considerably faster pace then Pidge could have managed.

"What happened?" Shiro tried again as he helped Pidge stand. She leaned against him, unable to take her own weight after dragging the two of them so far.

"Doesn't matter," Pidge gasped, her throat burning with dryness. "Need to help him. Need to make sure he's okay."

Shiro opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but decided against it. Instead, he scooped her up like Hunk did with Lance, letting her crawl weakly onto his back, wrapping her legs around his waist and looping her arms around his neck. Shiro supported her, piggy-back carrying her back to the Castle. Pidge pressed her nose into his nape. He smelled comforting and familiar. He smelled like home. It softened her high-strung nerves.

They said nothing as they followed Hunk back into the Castle and Pidge was grateful for that. She let herself relax, let her aching muscles go lax in Shiro's grip. He wouldn't let her go.

When they got to the infirmary, Pidge hardly left Lance's side. Even when she was kicked out of the infirmary so Coran could pull the bullet out of Lance's back and pop him in a pod, she stayed by the door, stretching her legs out in front of her and letting her thoughts wander. Keith and Shiro had left a little bit ago to get the groceries Pidge had abandoned leaving the Castle practically empty. Allura had come and gone but had clearly gotten too antsy to keep waiting with her and went to go make sure Shiro and Keith were okay. The only one that stayed with her for long was Hunk, who paced until he went to the kitchen to cook the anxiety off.

An hour later, Coran popped out of the infirmary, looking tired but accomplished. He allowed Pidge back inside just in time to see the last of the mist encase Lance's face. She let tension bleed out of her shoulders as she stumbled over to his pod and sank down beside it.

"Is he gonna be okay?" she managed to say, words slurring together in her exhaustion.

"Yes," Coran said, looking at her with a softness Pidge had only seen in her father's eyes. "He'll be just fine, I promise." A pause and then- "you did good Pidge."

She smiled. And sitting next to Lance's pod, Pidge shut her eyes and let herself drift okay with the promise that everything was going to be fine still ringing in her ears.

* * *

**Give me more platonic plance or give me death**

**Side note, sorry about the lack of postings as of late. I sprained my wrist and recovery has bee s. But I'm feeling well enough to publish (at like midnight I'm not sorry hjk) a BTHB. Also, this is the second to last one! **

**Hope you enjoyed! **


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